So I just seen a post regarding a deportee from California, now working in Laos at a pizza restaurant for a non Lao owner. The deportee has specific tattoos that appear he is/was in a gang/street life.

I understand your options are limited for employment unless you are an natural entrepreneur or have an in demand skill set. I assume is a man has no pride or self worth he's like whatever at least its a job but for a person with pride holy shit this is a kick in the balls.

Deported by the white man only to come to your homeland to work for the white man

Do you know anyone that fits the description above. I mean if your are without a criminal record, illegal, overstay, etc. What reason do you have not to get your citizenship

Me personally I know 1 guy who fits this mold, he's not all there in the head due to drug use so its not much use trying to get through to him. Another dude I know probably late 50-60's , no record that I am aware of. This guy probably worked low wage jobs here and there and expecting social security to take care of him not realizing how expensive it is to live in our state.

Couldn't think of a subject to talk about so how about the one above. I know 1 personally who did fairly well into the 2000's. I've seen more but like the restaurants they always say they are Thai.

Prior to digital cameras and smart phone cameras, were you and your family good with taking photos and keeping the hard copies organized cameras?

Many stories can be told via pictures but I have a feeling many families are missing photos from the past 40-50 years here.

Another one coming from Minnesota.

Another story about a person waiting to be deported. His case sucks due to his medical conditions and him unsure of access to the necessary medicines he needs.

Is this a thing that Lao people have. I figure with the over representation of food influencers, chef, all things food related I would think Lao people would have come up with new ideas.

I would say a good amount of Lao people have lived in at least 1-2 states from their original resettlement city. A big trend starting in the 90's was the big migration toward southern states such as FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, TX. Of all those states only NC did not have a huge resettlement community at first, it was a 2nd wave of transplants coming in the 90's. My family was almost one of them.

The question here is did people really want to move to these states or forces beyond their control made them move. Were they aware of the social issues in the south and how poor a lot of those states were and why do they continue to stay there today. From my visits and reading online the only states to really take advantage of Lao transplants from other states were TN and TX hence there big Lao New Year celebration, the others are just regular places.

• St Petersburg, FL
• Metro Atlanta, GA
• Charlotte, NC
• Spartanburg, SC
• Nashville/Murfreesboro, TN
• Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

Interesting how that many police officers came for just one man. You could have used less resources to subdue the young man.

I recall this show but never watched it. I think it was a spin off of classic cartoon Beavis and Butthead. I guess it was a fairly popular show lasting from 1997-2009

Since media is a powerful tool, how did you feel about the Lao representation and do you think it gave Lao people a positive neutral or negative look

Above is a sub regarding that show and comments about Lao people

Unrelated Example

From readings/videos online the people of Kazakhstan weren't to thrilled with the movie Borat and how they were portrayed

There are so many unique stories among the Lao American community. Would love to see more documentary films line this made. Check out Fallen Star Rising Sun on our YouTube channel and let us know if there are other films line this out there.

I was at a social function recently and just out of observation probably saw more single Lao males vs single Lao females within the 35-50 year old range. In your city/town of your Lao community does the ratio seem to be even or skewed toward one group of who is single and who isn't single. Would love to hear from you.

Here is an interesting case considering this guys charges. I wonder if the Lao PDR treats all deportees the same or different based on prior convictions.

Nothing super crazy but news nonetheless.

Is this something that you discuss amongst your circle. I know people are still moving out of high cost of living states and going to lower cost of living states but do they anticipate facing ageism when applying for jobs.

You don't have to put your age down on your application/resume but there will be a point where you will have to reveal your age. If you haven't consumed a lot of alcohol or drugs and live a healthy lifestyle your Asian genetics will help you as you will look younger than others

Outside of school books or something related to work, how many in the Lao community read for leisure. Most of my friends do not read, when I was in Laos I barely seen anyone with a book in hand or newspaper in the morning. This is totally different from what I saw in Thailand and Vietnam.

This is an interesting story and brings up the question do you feel you have been mistreated or discriminated against in the medical field. I know there are both good/bad doctors and obviously you want to stay away from bad doctors but to deal with that nonsense on top of a poor performance . Screw that nonsense, look for another doctor asap and a possible lawsuit.

For those of you following this nightmare situation, I have learned of a couple of recent deportee deaths in Laos as of recent. Below is the information I gathered on the net but feel free to correct if anything is incorrect.

Pang Nhia Hang Bailey - female, age mid 50's , from Michigan.

Pang Nhia Hang Bailey Gofundme

Tony Sengmany - male, age 50 -60 , possibly from Texas or other southern state. One of the first 65 to be deported back

I know formal first and last names were only introduced within the past 75-100 years, but how common are short ( less than 5-6 letters ) last names. To this day I only know 2 people like that. One of them I use to joke with and say " never trust Lao people with a short ass last name "

Does anyone know more than 1 person with a short last name?

So as of recent there has been much online debate regarding ownership of a food item. My question is why haven't we cement the ownership of the Khaen instrument. There is no debate on this because even Thai's acknowledge this comes from the Champassak area of Laos. Without this instrument there is no " Mor Lam" another culturally Lao creation. However doing some internet sleuthing I found like 3 books written on the instrument by non Lao people. Hell there is even a sub reddit dedicated to this instrument not sure who the moderator is.

I guess the question is do Lao people not see themselves as capable of creating and owning such things.

So the following groups below have cornered some type of market, how come Lao people haven't cornered anything like them. Please provide your reasons on why. And please don't use " Thai" restaurants as an answer.

Filipinos - nursing

Koreans - black beauty products

Cambodians - donuts ( at least in California )

Vietnamese - nails

Has anyone else bought these and tried the recipes? I have found they are very authentic. Hawker Fare has a bit of an Isan twist based on the author’s on personal history. Really love seeing Lao food finally arrive on the scene and not living in the shadows of Thai food.

In most medical and utility related mailings , there is usually a page reserved with many languages for non English speakers. In my state we do not have many Asians and I have notice Lao language is no longer included on my utility bill. I also noticed more Viet language assistance yet my state barely has any Viets until you go to the next state.

Has anyone noticed this in your city/state as well?

Well this is a first, I wonder what made him go hide out in Laos of all places.

From the above title, why does this not exist in California when that state houses the most Laotians ( all groups ) in the entire country. Is it due to our country bumpkin mind state or lack of astute business acumen.

Also an interesting fact the total estimated population of all groups from Laos in the USA is close to 500K , I don't know the exact number in California but definitely has to be more than Cambodians and Thais.

Cambodia Town - Long Beach

China Town - Los Angeles San Francisco Oakland

Korea Town - Los Angeles

Little Manila - Los Angeles

Little Saigon - San Jose Westminster

Little Tokyo - Los Angeles San Francisco San Jose

Thai Town - Los Angeles